Job Description

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Learning Mentor with Nurture Dog

Salary: Scale 6
Hours: 32.5 per week
Contract: Permanent
Start Date: Immediate Start
Location: White Hall Academy

Do you have a passion for helping children to feel confident, supported and ready to learn?

Are you someone who enjoys building positive relationships with children, spending time outdoors and finding creative ways to help children manage their emotions and behaviour?

We are looking for an enthusiastic, caring and nurturing Learning Mentor with Nurture Dog to join our team.

This is a particularly special role. Our nurture dog will be an important part of your work with children, and you will spend a significant part of your day outdoors, taking individual children and small groups on supervised walks with the dog.

These walks will be much more than simply exercise for the dog. They will provide opportunities to build trusting relationships with children, have meaningful conversations, support emotional regulation, develop confidence and self-esteem, encourage positive behaviour and help children to feel ready to engage with learning.

You might be walking alongside a child who needs some quiet time after a difficult morning, supporting a small group to develop their communication and social skills, or using time outdoors with the dog to help a child talk through something that is worrying them.

About the role

As our Learning Mentor, you will work with identified pupils who may experience social, emotional and behavioural difficulties or who need additional support to engage positively with school.

You will:

build positive and trusting relationships with children;
provide individual and small-group mentoring and nurture support;
undertake regular nurture walks with children and our nurture dog;
use outdoor activities and time with the dog as purposeful mentoring opportunities;
support children to develop emotional regulation, resilience, confidence and positive relationships;
provide support when children are experiencing behavioural or emotional difficulties;
work alongside teachers, LSAs, MDAs and the Pastoral Lead to develop appropriate support strategies;
contribute to behaviour and pastoral support plans and monitor pupils' progress;
support lunchtime and nurture activities;
communicate appropriately with parents/carers and relevant professionals;
maintain accurate records of interventions, behaviour and pupil progress; and
follow all safeguarding, health and safety, risk assessment and animal welfare arrangements.
This is not a classroom-based role. The successful candidate will need to enjoy being active, working outdoors and using practical, nurturing activities to support children. Regular walks with the nurture dog will be a significant and integral part of the working day.

About you

We are looking for someone who is:

warm, approachable and able to build trusting relationships with children;
calm and patient, particularly when children are experiencing difficulties;
confident in supporting children with social, emotional and behavioural needs;
creative in finding ways to engage children who may find the classroom environment challenging;
comfortable working outdoors and undertaking regular walks with children;
genuinely interested in using nurture and relationship-based approaches to support children;
able to communicate effectively with children, colleagues and parents/carers;
organised and able to maintain accurate records;
able to work independently while being an effective member of the wider school team; and
committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
Previous experience of working with a school, therapy or trained dog would be an advantage, but is not essential. What is important is that you are comfortable working closely with the nurture dog and are enthusiastic about using this as part of a wider programme of support for children. Appropriate training and guidance will be provided.

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to take on a role where you can make a genuine difference to children's experiences of school.

You will have the opportunity to develop a distinctive nurture provision, working creatively with children both within the school and outdoors. You will be part of a supportive team and will work closely with teaching and pastoral colleagues to help children overcome barriers to learning and develop the confidence and skills they need to succeed.

If you are someone who believes that sometimes the best conversations happen while you're walking side by side, we'd love to hear from you.

Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

The successful candidate will be subject to appropriate safer recruitment and pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.

Closing Date: 9th October 2026
Interview Date: 15th October 2026

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should a suitable candidate be identified.

Information about the School

White Hall Academy is a large primary school at the heart of the local community. It is part of the Learning Pathways Academy Trust, which has partnership at the heart of its ethos. We are rated 'Good' by Ofsted and are now working towards 'Outstanding'. To help us achieve this we need exceptional staff.

The Learning Pathways Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment. Successful applicants will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS check and provide satisfactory references, including one from their most recent employer. All appointments are made subject to rigorous pre-employment checks in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.

In line with recommended practice in the statutory guidance "Keeping Children Safe in Education", the school will conduct searches for information on shortlisted candidates which is publicly available on-line. The purpose is limited:

· to identify issues which call into question the applicant's suitability to work with children.

· to verify employment history.

Only information related for the purposes stated will be shared with the Panel. Any information will be discussed with candidates at interview before any decisions regarding the recruitment process are made.

The school reserves the right to close the vacancy early.